The Robot Report

  • Home
  • News
  • Technologies
    • Batteries / Power Supplies
    • Cameras / Imaging / Vision
    • Controllers
    • End Effectors
    • Microprocessors / SoCs
    • Motion Control
    • Sensors
    • Soft Robotics
    • Software / Simulation
  • Development
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Human Robot Interaction / Haptics
    • Mobility / Navigation
    • Research
  • Robots
    • AGVs
    • AMRs
    • Consumer
    • Collaborative Robots
    • Drones
    • Exoskeletons
    • Industrial
    • Self-Driving Vehicles
    • Unmanned Maritime Systems
  • Markets
    • Agriculture
    • Healthcare
    • Logistics
    • Manufacturing
    • Mining
    • Security
  • Financial
    • Investments
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Earnings
  • Resources
    • Careers
    • COVID-19
    • Digital Issues
    • Publications
      • Collaborative Robotics Trends
      • Robotics Business Review
    • RBR50 Winners 2022
    • Search Robotics Database
    • Videos
    • Webinars / Digital Events
  • Events
    • RoboBusiness
    • Robotics Summit & Expo
    • Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum
    • DeviceTalks
    • R&D 100
    • Robotics Weeks
  • Podcast
    • Episodes
    • Leave a voicemail

Ouster raises $42M Series B for LiDAR sensors

By Steve Crowe | September 8, 2020

Ouster LiDAR

Ouster’s LiDAR line-up. | Credit: Ouster

Ouster, a San Francisco-based LiDAR developer, closed a $42 million Series B round today. Founded in 2015, Ouster has raised $140 million in funding and claims to have 800-plus customers in a variety of industries.

The Series B funding, Ouster said, will support new product development and international sales efforts. Investors in the round include Cox Automotive, Tao Capital Partners, and Fontinalis Partners.

Ouster builds high-resolution LiDAR sensors for the transportation, robotics, industrial automation, and smart infrastructure industries. LiDAR sensors play a crucial role in most autonomous vehicles, for example, as they measure the distance to objects by illuminating them with light and measuring the reflected pulses.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is not a LiDAR fan, however, having called the technology a “fool’s errand.” Cornell University researchers agree with Musk’s LiDAR-less approach, saying two inexpensive cameras on either side of a vehicle’s windshield can detect objects with nearly LiDAR’s accuracy and at a fraction of the cost.

Ouster claims its customers include Postmates, Ike, May Mobility, Kodiak Robotics, Coast Autonomous, the U.S. Army, NASA, Stanford University, and MIT University. “Ouster’s sensors help us in our mission to make trucking safer and more productive,” said Nancy Sun, Co-Founder and Chief Engineer of Ike, a developer of autonomous trucking technology. “The digital LiDAR design provides us unmatched resolution to see in a truck’s blind spots and outstanding reliability to endure extended use on Class 8 trucks.”

In January 2020, Ouster launched its second-generation LiDAR sensors with three new 128-beam models:

  • The OS0 ultra-wide view LiDAR sensor for navigating urban environments and warehouses.
  • The OS1 mid-range LiDAR, with a 120 meter range and a 45 degree field of view.
  • The OS2 long-range LiDAR sensor, with a 200+ meter range for high-speed vehicle automation.

The LiDAR market, which is projected to be a $1.8 billion industry in 2025, is a crowded space. Some of Ouster’s competitors include Innoviz Technologies, which has raised $252 million in funding to date, Luminar Technologies and Velodyne, to name a few.

At the end of August, Luminar announced a reverse merger with Gores Metropoulos Inc., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), and $170 million in investment to accelerate commercial development of its “full stack” of vehicle technology. We talked about this merger and SPAC deal with Oliver Mitchell, a venture partner at ff Venture Capital, on last week’s episode of The Robot Report Podcast. You can listen to the podcast below and hear why Mitchell isn’t a fan of SPACs.



Ouster claims its 12-month revenue has grown by 62%, with third quarter bookings up 209% year over year.

“Digital CMOS technology is the future of lidar and Ouster was the first to invent, build, patent, and commercialize digital LiDAR,” said Angus Pacala, CEO of Ouster. “Once our customers experience the resolution and reliability of these sensors at an affordable price, there’s no turning back to legacy analog LiDAR.”

In January 2020, Chinese LiDAR developer Hesai Technology closed one of the largest financing rounds ever in the space. It raised a $173 million Series C that was co-led by German Bosch Group and Lightspeed Venture, Qiming Venture Partners, ON Semiconductor, DT Capital Partners, Axiom Singapore and others. In August 2019, Velodyne filed a patent infringement lawsuits against Hesai, but in July the companies announced a cross-licensing deal.

About The Author

Steve Crowe

Steve Crowe is Editorial Director, Robotics, WTWH Media, and co-chair of the Robotics Summit & Expo. He joined WTWH Media in January 2018 after spending four-plus years as Managing Editor of Robotics Trends Media. He can be reached at [email protected]

Tell Us What You Think! Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Articles Read More >

jaiabot
Jaia Robotics brings in over $1M in seed funding
impossible mining auv
Impossible Mining raises $10.1M for underwater mining robot
osaro robot picks items for customer order
OSARO automates Zenni fulfillment center
wingcopter 198 flying over ocean and islands
Wingcopter brings in $42M for delivery drones

2021 Robotics Handbook

The Robot Report Listing Database

Latest Robotics News

Robot Report Podcast

Brian Gerkey from Open Robotics discusses the development of ROS
See More >

Sponsored Content

  • Magnetic encoders support the stabilization control of a self-balancing two-wheeled robotic vehicle
  • How to best choose your AGV’s Wheel Drive provider
  • Meet Trey, the autonomous trailer (un)loading forklift
  • Kinova Robotics launches Link 6, the first Canadian industrial collaborative robot
  • Torque sensors help make human/robot collaborations safer for workers

RBR50 Innovation Awards

Leave us a voicemail

The Robot Report
  • Mobile Robot Guide
  • Collaborative Robotics Trends
  • Field Robotics Forum
  • Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum
  • RoboBusiness Event
  • Robotics Business Review
  • Robotics Summit & Expo
  • About The Robot Report
  • Subscribe
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search The Robot Report

  • Home
  • News
  • Technologies
    • Batteries / Power Supplies
    • Cameras / Imaging / Vision
    • Controllers
    • End Effectors
    • Microprocessors / SoCs
    • Motion Control
    • Sensors
    • Soft Robotics
    • Software / Simulation
  • Development
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Human Robot Interaction / Haptics
    • Mobility / Navigation
    • Research
  • Robots
    • AGVs
    • AMRs
    • Consumer
    • Collaborative Robots
    • Drones
    • Exoskeletons
    • Industrial
    • Self-Driving Vehicles
    • Unmanned Maritime Systems
  • Markets
    • Agriculture
    • Healthcare
    • Logistics
    • Manufacturing
    • Mining
    • Security
  • Financial
    • Investments
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Earnings
  • Resources
    • Careers
    • COVID-19
    • Digital Issues
    • Publications
      • Collaborative Robotics Trends
      • Robotics Business Review
    • RBR50 Winners 2022
    • Search Robotics Database
    • Videos
    • Webinars / Digital Events
  • Events
    • RoboBusiness
    • Robotics Summit & Expo
    • Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum
    • DeviceTalks
    • R&D 100
    • Robotics Weeks
  • Podcast
    • Episodes
    • Leave a voicemail